In which a Megan�s blood reveals a secret

Chapter 12 of The Time-Teller

Chapter 12
In which a Megan’s blood reveals a secret

 

The area around Megan was dim, lit only by a small fire in the center of the spacious cave. The stone walls of the cave were a light gray color. The mouth of the cave was not visible, but Megan noticed a narrow, dark tunnel across from her. Standing beside the fire, was a robed figure. Its shoulders were hunched slightly. Megan could not see its face because it was facing the tunnel. She was sure that this was the owner of the awful cackling voice, but where was Pyralis?

 

“Ha ha, ha ha. This is my territory, Pyralis. You cannot penetrate it, and the girl is powerless. Ha ha, ha ha. I can beat you easily here. You’re an old man and too quickly feared.”

 

“You overestimate my years, Calypso,” Pyralis’ voice echoed through the room. “My magic has not faded since our last meeting. It has, if anything, improved.”

 

“Ha ha, ha ha,” the voice cackled. “But, this is my territory, Pyralis. Give up. Let her go, like you did the others. Ha ha, ha ha.” There was a slight pause after this before Pyralis spoke again.

 

“Do not anger me, Calypso. I know this place is yours, but you forget who the architect was.”

 

“You may have designed it, but my modifications have changed the whole atmosphere. Besides, you can’t even enter. All you can do is send your drawling little voice.” Megan tried to stand, but the air felt so heavy. It seemed as though the gravitational pull had strengthened tenfold.

 

“I can do more than that, Calypso,” Pyralis’ voice echoed around annoyingly. Megan spent much of her energy forcing herself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall.

 

“What else can you do?” Calypso cackled.

 

“Can you hear me?” Pyralis asked. Calypso just kept cackling as though Pyralis had not spoken.

 

“Megan,” Pyralis continued. “Do not say anything. If you can hear me, groan loudly.” Megan obeyed, knowing that the cackling stranger could not hear Pyralis but could hear her.

 

“Now,” Pyralis said. “I need you to do something for me. Don’t talk, or that cackling bimbo will suspect us, but don’t ever underestimate him. He would be a worthy opponent if he didn’t underestimate everybody else. Can you move at all? Groan once for no, twice for a little.” Megan groaned twice and wished Pyralis would hurry whatever he was planning up because it was taking her a painful amount of energy to stay in a seated position. She didn’t want to lie down for the shear fear of vulnerability.

 

“Now, move your left hand through the air as if you were going to chop off your right wrist.” Megan obeyed, sighing.

 

“Now breathe in deeply and scream as if you had actually cut off your wrist.” Megan paused for a second, wondering, then obeyed. The creature with the deep cackle turned to face her, and Megan would never forget her terror at seeing its face. The hood of the cloak cast a dark shadow over his twisted and distorted forehead. His eyes were narrow green slits, and his long nose was turned up like a cat’s. He had a grotesquely curving mouth, and his gray complexion looked as though it had been carved from the bark of a dead tree.

 

Megan felt something wet trickle down her arm, and there was a terrible pain in her wrist as if someone had slit her with a knife. She looked down slowly, fearfully. Her left hand was covered blood, which was pouring freely from her wrist. Megan felt woozy. The blood flowed swiftly onto her clothing, and her right hand shook violently.
She looked back up at the hideous creature, which now had a look of such hunger in its eyes that Megan couldn’t help but let out a weak yelp of terror. The creature’s mouth twisted into a nasty, distorted smile, and its odd nostrils sniffed the air. Suddenly, as though it had moved on a swift, untouchable wind, it was above her. Green-tinted tears of starvation fell from its eyes as it looked ravenously down at the shivering girl on the floor. Megan fixed her frightened eyes on the creature’s face, and she could not move. The creature reached its bony hand out. Then, there was a sudden and horrible cracking noise and a flash of misty, dim light, and Megan was spinning through the air like a top. She spun swiftly and dizzily through the tunnel and out the mouth of the cave into Pyralis’ arms. Pyralis held her tightly and jumped, spinning into the air. While he was in the air, his feet began to disappear, turning into black smoke. The strange smoke moved quickly up his body, and over Megan until there was no sign that they had ever stood at the mouth of that dark cave.

 

***

 

Pyralis set Megan down gently on the winding dirt path. She swayed slightly with her sudden ability to move because she was no longer pulled down by the strange gravity of the cave. Her wrist ached and throbbed painfully.

 

“That was very close,” Pyralis said, looking away from Megan into the distant hills. They were standing in a small valley of sorts, surrounded by miles of uneven hilly ground. It was green and warm. A soft breeze whistled about, and the noises of insects and small animals filled the surroundings, giving them an impenetrable, almost heavenly feel. Wild flowers were scattered about here and there, adding their strong aroma to the mix of feelings. For a few moments, Megan was lost for words because she was so awed by the beautiful surroundings. She was brought back to reality by the horrific pain in her wrist.

 

“You used me as… as bait!” Megan shouted at Pyralis. Pyralis turned to her and frowned.

 

“I saved your life though.”

 

“Why did you make me do that, you wicked man!” Megan said, feeling slightly nauseous from the blood. “What was that thing anyway?’

 

“That thing was Calypso,” Pyralis drawled. “He is currently working for Gethin although he changes masters quite frequently based upon who can supply him with the most meat, and I did not make you do ‘that’. I simply told you how.”

 

“But you didn’t tell me that I was cutting my wrist open!”

 

“How else was I supposed to keep him distracted, so I could break through his enchantments to rescue you?”

 

“I don’t know, but not by making a huge gash in my wrist!” Megan huffed angrily. Pyralis narrowed his eyes.

 

“You are very lucky, little girl,” Pyralis said shortly. “I performed the spell to keep people from hearing to make it so that no one could hear. I couldn’t make it so that only you could hear me because I wasn’t facing you. If you didn’t have the ability to hear me when I perform that spell, you would probably be dead right now. I could feel his greed for human flesh emanating from the cave, and even though you aren’t completely human, I’m sure he would have eaten you anyway.” Megan stood with her mouth open. She choked on her words before finally managing, “Not com… completely human?” Megan stared at Pyralis, who she now hated even more for using her as some sort of bait, but his words stung her like a hornet. Pyralis looked back at her.

 

“Did you think you were?” he asked, mildly amused.

 

“Of course, I thought I was!” Megan said. “Think I am…” she corrected herself although she knew that the likelihood of Pyralis making that sort of mistake were very slim.

 

“Humans rarely possess the natural magical aptitude that you have been gifted with,” Pyralis said. Megan wasn’t sure how to take that. Pyralis had said it as a compliment, but at the same time, he had said that she wasn’t human and that she had magical ability, which she did not want.

 

“You said humans rarely have it, so maybe, I am human,” Megan said, not feeling very optimistic. Pyralis smiled.

 

“Impossible. Any trained wizard could smell that that,” he said, pointing to her wrist. “Is not human blood. One of your parents must have been descended from one of the ancient races who journeyed to your planet many centuries ago.” Megan gawked at him, closing her left hand around her right wrist. “Here.” Pyralis held his hand over her wrist, which healed itself agonizingly. Then, the flakes of dried blood pulled themselves off Megan’s skin and fell to the ground in that peaceful valley. Pyralis shook his head thoughtfully, and if he could have stared at Megan, he would have.

 

“Well,” he said. “I did find something that might come in handy in tracking Gethin down if that will make your mood improve at all.” Megan sighed. She wanted to find Gethin, but it seemed like she had come so far already, and he was still a long way away.

 

“What is it?” she asked, a little unenthusiastically. Pyralis held up a small jar of black and blue powder. It looked almost like food-colored powdered sugar. Then, he replaced it in the sleeve of his intricate cloak. Megan blinked. She had no idea what a jar of sand was going to help them do.

 

“It’s remnants,” Pyralis drawled. “Of a teleportation spell.”

 

“How do you know it’s Gethin’s?” Megan asked.

 

“Because I do,” Pyralis half-smiled. “Anyway, it gave me a vaguely clear location of where he was going, so we will follow his tracks and hopefully find him at the end of them.”

 

“Okay,” Megan said tiredly. “So where are we going?”

 

“There,” Pyralis pointed into the distance, and Megan could vaguely make out the outline of white walls far off in the distance. “It is the city of Patli, famous for its large hospitals and healing facilities, which I am sure will not speed Gethin’s healing because his wounds are too deep and magically influenced. However, I am also sure he knows that, so he must be going there for something more meaningful.” Pyralis began walking briskly toward the distant white walls with Megan in his wake.

 

Megan did not notice the strange silence until they had been walking for some time. The insects and animals that had made the valley and the hills seem so peaceful had stopped. The only noise was the sound of Pyralis and Megan’s footsteps in the soft grass and dirt path. Megan looked around cautiously. She didn’t like this quiet. It was eerie and out of place. Her breathing became slightly heavier.

 

“Pyralis?” she whispered cautiously.

 

“Shhh,” he said, quickening his pace. Megan followed. Her heartbeat thumped against her chest and seemed to be caught in her throat. The silence followed them as if it were a tangible thing, and Megan shivered, knowing that in this strange world, things like this never boded well. A whistling noise came from far off in the distance, then a buzzing like the sound of a hundred bees. Megan moved closer to Pyralis. Somehow, his presence made her feel safer, although she still despised him to her very core. The buzzing and whistling grew louder, until they were surrounded in it. Somehow, it seemed that Megan had heard the noise before, although, she did not know from where.

 

“Quickly,” Pyralis breathed and walked faster. Megan hurried to keep up with him. She almost had to run to accomplish this. The whistling sound was now so loud that Megan’s ears ached and pulsed with the noise. It was not long before Megan realized where the buzzing was coming from, and she was paralyzed with fear.